Ron Miller voted for it. Scott Wagner, Linda Small have criticized it

State Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, in November voted for a major transportation funding plan that is expected to provide as much as $2.4 billion in new revenue by the fifth year of the plan.

His opponents in the March 18 special election — Democrat Linda Small of New Freedom and Republican write-in candidate Scott Wagner of Spring Garden Township — have criticized the plan, which Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law in November.

Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania, through its political action committee, has sent out mailers criticizing Miller for supporting the plan.

Here's a look at where the three candidates stand on the issue.

Ron Miller (File)

Miller

The law raises gas and diesel taxes at the wholesale level, which some businesses have publicly said they have to pass onto consumers at the pump.

"It was the necessary decision," Miller, the Republican nominee for the 28th Senatorial District, said during a York Daily Record/Sunday News editorial board meeting last week.

He pointed to the recent closure of part of I-83 southbound as an example.

"The road was collapsing. We have an aging infrastructure. I-83 will soon be 60 years old," Miller said. "We have issues that are unmet."

Miller said the legislation increased funding for municipalities and included some reform to prevailing wages — minimum pay rates set by the state that have to be in place for certain public projects.

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The legislation increased the threshold for when prevailing wage rates are required for local public transportation projects from $25,000 to $100,000. Miller said the change will save municipalities, and thus taxpayers, money.

"It is a big deal, because of the fact we finally made a dent into the armor of the unions in this state," Miller said. "They fought that tooth and nail."

Small

Small criticized Corbett and the General Assembly for not passing a transportation funding bill earlier. She said the delay created increased costs.

Linda Small (Submitted)

She said she would have supported a good transportation bill.

"We in Pennsylvania consistently ask the average taxpayer to pony up," Small said during the editorial board meeting.

She said the state has given tax breaks to companies like Verizon, and it recently announced $30 million in grant money for Comcast to build a skyscraper in Philadelphia.

"So we have a priority problem," Small said.

She also criticized the prevailing wage changes, saying that prevailing wage works like the minimum wage.

"The idea is, if you have people working in an area if you're using taxpayer funds, you want them to be paid the fair wage that is common in that area," Small said. "It was designed partly to prevent people bringing in laborers from out of state and undercutting good Pennsylvania companies, and good Pennsylvania jobs."

Scott Wagner (Submitted)

Wagner

Wagner, president of Penn Waste Inc., said he met with state Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, and others about the legislation.

He said Penn Waste has more than 100 trucks running throughout rural municipalities.

Wagner said he supported the concept of a transportation spending plan, but he wouldn't have supported the legislation that was signed.

He criticized the gas and diesel tax changes for wholesalers, saying they were meant to hide the increase that was passed on to consumers.

He said he would have preferred raising fees for vehicles. He said that in Pennsylvania, people pay $36 per year for their car registration, while in Maryland, people have to pay $135 every two years.

He also said Pennsylvania has a spending problem, not a revenue one.

"There is so much fat in Harrisburg," he said.

He said eliminating the prevailing wage would save money and provide more funding for bridges.

"The problem with Pennsylvania is Pennsylvania is controlled by the unions. They control this state," Wagner said in the editorial board meeting. "Trust me, the unions were all over this transportation bill."

Miller said Wagner was trying to rewrite history. He said Wagner pushed for the legislation.

"After the vote on the gas tax, on this transportation bill, I went to Rep. Saylor's office, and Scott Wagner thanked me for my vote," Miller said. "So this is a chameleon act going on here."

Wagner didn't dispute Miller's statements about thanking him for the vote. After the editorial board meeting, Wagner said if he's elected to the Senate, he's going to work on changing the gas and diesel tax portion of the law.

Contact Ed Mahon at 717-771-2089.

More issues

The candidates for the March 18 special election discussed several issues during an editorial board meeting last week.